Aryeh Deri Denounces Bennett-Lapid Merger as a “Brotherhood of Hatred” Against Jewish Identity

Shas chief Aryeh Deri attacks the Bennett-Lapid union, claiming it threatens Jewish identity, settlement, and Mizrahi communities in the 2026 election.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 26, 2026, 1:09 PM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Times of Israel

A Sharp Rejection from the Ultra-Orthodox Bloc

Immediately following the announcement that Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid will run on a joint slate for the 2026 Knesset elections, Shas leader Aryeh Deri released a statement condemning the move. Deri, a pivotal figure in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing religious coalition, labeled the partnership a "brotherhood of hatred." His rhetoric mirrors the intense political friction that characterized the 2021-2022 "Government of Change," which Deri and his allies have long framed as an illegitimate assault on the religious status quo.

The "Second Israel" Narrative and Identity Politics

Deri’s critique leaned heavily into social and ethnic divisions, accusing Bennett and Lapid of targeting "Second Israel"—a term often used to describe Mizrahi and working-class communities who feel marginalized by the country’s Ashkenazi-dominated secular elite. According to Deri, the common denominator of the Bennett-Lapid union is a shared "hatred of tradition" and a desire to undermine Torah scholars and the Jewish identity of the state. By framing the merger as an attack on these demographics, Deri is signaling that Shas intends to make the defense of religious institutions a central pillar of its 2026 campaign.

Invoking the "Muslim Brotherhood" and Radical Left

The Shas chairman also resurrected a frequent coalition talking point by linking the centrist merger to the "Muslim Brotherhood," a reference to Mansour Abbas’s Islamist Ra’am party which participated in the previous Bennett-Lapid government. Deri warned that a "frightened Bennett" is seeking to facilitate the return of an "extreme left" administration. This line of attack aims to consolidate right-wing voters who are wary of any governing coalition that includes Arab-Israeli parties, regardless of Bennett’s recent public statements favoring an all-Zionist coalition.